India's first cyber police station in Bangalore

The Corps of Detectives, the specialised investigation agency of Karnataka, will soon set up the country's first cyber-crime police station to tackle newer and innovative crimes using computers and the Internet.

The COD headquarters in Bangalore would be a 'virtual station' with the jurisdiction covering the entire state to check such malpractices, COD inspector general of police R Srikumar said on Tuesday.

The modus operandi for its installation was being finalised, he said.

The officers attached to the cyberspace station would be proficient in law and policing besides computer technology.

In 1999, Karnataka became the first state in the country to set up a Cyber Crime Investigation Cell. Since then, it had been concentrating on equipping the state's police personnel with necessary resources and wherewithal to tackle cyber crimes.

However, the need for a separate station dedicated to the high-tech crime was felt and a proposal on this was being finalised by the COD. It would shortly be handed over to the government for early approval.

''The new agency will be the nodal agency to receive complaints regarding all computer-related crimes. It will investigate with the help of multi-disciplinary group of experts drawn from various fields including renowned software companies, academic institutions and IT consultants,'' Srikumar elaborated.

''Time is a crucial factor for investigating cyber crimes. Skilled investigators can easily trace the culprits if they were informed about it well on time,'' he added.

The station should establish the nature of cyber crimes such as designing and printing of fake currency notes, Internet hacking, and software piracy which falls under Copyright Act among others, the official noted.

''Once the new set-up is in place, it can also receive complaints through e-mail,'' he added.